Immune system disorders and deficiencies are legion, encompassing a vast array of disease and illness affecting people all over the world. Maladies resulting from primary and secondary immune deficiencies/disorders include:

From antibiotics and surgery to antioxidants and counseling, treatment choices are almost limitless. The main treatment questions are: How does it work? Has it been clinically studied? Does it tackle the underlying problem, or does it just mask symptoms?

The gastrointestinal system is crucial to immune function. Over 70% of the immune system is dictated by Gut Associated Lymphatic Tissue (GALT) and 80% of the plasma cells responsible for antibody production reside there. This tissue runs from the tonsils through the entire intestinal tract. GALT health equals good health because it’s the foundation and structure of a strong immune system.

“These bacteria affect immune function, and may help explain why stress dysregulates the immune response,” said lead researcher Michael Bailey.

An amazing new product that stimulates healthy GALT and supports robust immunity is Isotonix® Immune. The primary ingredient in Isotonix® Immune is a patented compound called Wellmune WGP®.

Wellmune WGP® is a natural yeast compound derived from the cell wall of a highly purified, proprietary strain of hypoallergenic baker’s yeast. This link has a series of videos illustrating how Wellmune boosts the ability of immune cells to locate and eliminate dangerous fungus, bacteria and viruses in the body. Dozens of clinical, preclinical and peer-reviewed research testifies to the power and safety of this incredible natural substance.

In a provocative study researchers exposed three groups of mice to a lethal dose of Anthrax in their drinking water. One group was given Wellmune WGP® for 2 days prior to the exposure. Another group had Wellmune WGP® for 8 days prior and the last group had no Wellmune WGP® .

All of the mice with no Wellmune died from Anthrax within 10 days. Fifty percent of the mice with 2 days of Wellmune WGP® survived, and those that died lived much longer. All of the mice that had 8 days of Wellmune WGP® lived. The Wellmune WGP® enabled their immune systems to destroy the deadly Anthrax bacteria in their bodies.

The main ingredient in Isotonix® Immune is Wellmune WGP®. Results obtained in multiple clinical studies on Wellmune WGP® are jaw-dropping. Follow this link to read how consuming Wellmune WGP® for just 2-8 days saved the lives of mice that had received lethal doses of Anthrax.

All Isotonix® products are isotonic, which is an ideal form of supplementation. The bioavailability of Isotonix® is so high, up to 95% of the product is absorbed and entering the bloodstream in minutes when taken as directed. Most supplements on the market deliver 10-20% and are more difficult to digest.

If you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, give your immune system the help it needs. Use Isotonix® Immune to feel better and stay well.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, gout is one of the most painful forms of rheumatoid arthritis. Gout affects approximately 3.9% of the US population and has been steadily rising as more and more American’s struggle with obesity and hypertension. Statistically, more men are afflicted with this condition than women because men have higher uric acid levels in their blood than women.

Gouty Arthritis or Acute Gout – Often triggered by aggravating diet, stress, alcohol or another illness. Attacks usually happen at night and subside within 3-10 days with or without treatment.

Interval or Intercritical Gout – The symptom-free time between acute gout episodes. These intervals tend to get shorter and shorter over time.

Chronic Tophaceous Gout – Usually develops over a long period of time (like 10 years) with possible permanent damage to the joints or kidneys.

Purines are natural chemical compounds found virtually every type of food. Here is a short video on purines in relationship to gout. Usually the body eliminates uric acid via the kidneys by dissolving it into urine. When excessive uric acid builds up and the kidneys can’t keep up, urate crystals can form. These sharp urate crystals can develop in the kidneys, joints or tissue surrounding joints, causing severe pain and inflammation.

Use of steroids and pain-killers may temporary alleviate symptoms of gout, but a diagnosis of gout is a good indication that systemic problems have been brewing for a long time and some lifestyle and comprehensive nutritional changes need to take place.

Reducing or eliminating high-purine foods would clearly be a smart way to reduce the burden on the kidneys. Supporting the body’s overall digestive health would also help kidney function and reduce uric acid imbalances. Drinking lots of fresh water and eating a high-alkaline diet full of fresh raw foods and fiber meets those objectives.

Studies have shown that many supplements can benefits gout-sufferers by improving kidney function, reducing systemic inflammation caused by free-radical damage and aiding in digestion. Click on the name of each supplement type below to see how it can address gout related problems:

The National Heart Foundation of Australia sponsored a study on the effects of Red Bull energy drink, on cardiovascular performance. The surprising results were recently published in the American Journal of Medicine.

Fifty healthy male and female volunteers (between 20-24 years old) participated in the study. One hour after consuming a sugar-free Red Bull energy drink, several negative physiological changes were observed in the participants:

Sticky clotting blood, vascular malfunction and unnatural elevation of blood pressure are not conditions anyone should try to frequently induce in their body. Watch this 2 minute video from About.com on what happens during a heart attack.

Drinkable solutions that are truly isotonic have the correct ratios of solids to liquids that enable them to be absorbed very rapidly and easily. Isotonix® products deliver up to 95% of their nutrients into the blood stream in minutes when taken as directed.

Okay, this post sounds like a commercial, and I wish it didn’t, but I don’t know how else to explain my experience with this product.

When it comes to skin, we are all dealing with something: dryness, excess oil, wrinkles, pimples, puffiness or sagging. The crazy thing is that some of these seemingly opposite conditions occur at the same time. Like dryness AND pimples or wrinkles AND puffiness. Adult acne is classic.

I personally have combination skin that has become drier over time. Throw in a few brown spots over the years, along with the occasional breakout and maintaining a nice complexion had turned into a job!

Then I tried this product which is available in Europe, but brand new to the U.S., called Matriskin™.

Matriskin™ Collagen MP Serum should be called “This is the Bomb Miracle Serum”! It makes my other skin care products work even better and tackles diverse skin problems equally well.

When I added Matriskin into my skin care regime, I was contending with a blemish. Two days later the blemish was gone and my skin was softer. Matriskin also improved my skin tone while aiding my Pentaxyl® and Cellular Laboratories De-Aging Creme moisturizer because it draws other products deeper into the skin. Even my husband (who has very sensitive skin) noticed an improvement in his “laugh lines” with Matriskin. After we ran out (the bottle lasted us almost two months) I bought more because my skin looked better and was easier to care for on this product. Now I have to hide it from our teenagers because Matriskin keeps their skin so clear.

Clinical studies done with 600 participants between the ages of 20 and 80 who used this product for two months observed these results:

• Revitalization of skin texture and firmness
• Acne reduced in as little as 3 days
• Increased radiance and skin hydration seen in all cases
• Improvement in every age group, including those with delicate skin

SHOP.COM is the exclusive U.S. provider of Matriskin™ for $149.95. In Europe the same product sells for $295.

A few weeks ago I stepped into the world of pet ownership for the very first time. Our son has a friend who got a puppy that he couldn’t keep and we ended up adopting him. The puppy is a chocolate lab mix and we named him Jackson.

Being the researcher-type, Jackson has provided a ton of new search criteria for me. Canine behavior, obedience training, dog food, best dog toys, etc. It’s amazing how big the pet paraphernalia world is!

I have several clients with pets who swear by the PetHealth™ product brand, so I ordered some for Jackson. Jackson is only 12 weeks old so he has no joint pain or age related problems which many dogs take the PetHealth™ OPC antioxidant for. However, Jackson was having some eye secretions which were kind-of yucky so I started giving him a quarter teaspoon of PetHealth™ OPC in each of his meals. His eyes cleared up in a couple days.

Another aspect of doggy ownership that surprised me was shampoo scents. What is up with all the fruit scented shampoos? Green apple, papaya, mango, strawberry-vanilla? It just seemed weird for a dog to smell like fruit. So I tried a few different “herbal” scents. One of them left Jackson still smelling “doggy”. Another cut the dog smell but left Jackson smelling very medicinal – too much like tea tree oil.

After contacting a couple of my clients I got the PetHealth™ Hypoallergenic Shampoo and used it on Jackson after he came in smelling nasty from digging in the dirt. Wow! What an improvement! The scent is hard to describe, kind-of a clean woodsy-lavender. Very nice, not overpowering and definitely not fruity to too floral and his coat was soft and shiny. I even put some PetHealth Paw Balm on him just to complete his salon experience.

Prednisone is a synthetic form of corticosteroid that can be administered in topical, injectable, or oral form. Corticosteroids are a class of steroid’s which act like hormones that are produced by the adrenal gland.

Prednisone is prescribed to very effectively suppress immune system response when treating a variety of inflammatory diseases and disorders. This includes arthritis, eczema, some cancers, irritable bowel symptoms, asthma, allergic reactions, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, chronic pain conditions and many others.

When our bodies are under stress, a natural steroid hormone called cortisol is a released. Cortisol is part of the “fight or flight” response which causes changes to blood pressure, blood sugar, immune and inflammatory response. These changes are not harmful when the body has a chance to recover from the stress inducing event. Stress responses can become very problematic if triggered too frequently.

The immune system cannot operate properly under the influence of excessive cortisol. Impaired immunity leaves the door open to illness and disease. Because prednisone is a synthetic corticosteroid it should be used cautiously, infrequently, and sparingly to reduce the likelihood of complications. When used judiciously, it can be a wonderful drug.

However, when prednisone is taken for more than a few weeks, it causes the adrenal gland to shrink, producing fewer natural steroid hormones. That is why discontinuing prednisone and other corticosteroids much be done slowly so that the adrenal gland can return to normal production. Sudden drug withdrawal can trigger dangerous side effects. There are also some terrible possible side effects and complications which can occur when using prednisone:

“It seems like you’re getting younger! Why aren’t you getting wrinkles? What are you using on your skin?”

Lately, those type of questions keep coming at me from female friends and co-workers. After forty or so, fighting wrinkles can be quite a catalyst for conversation.

Several years ago, I started having trouble with hormone-triggered skin discolorations on my face. My dermatologist told me it was a common problem that many people experience and instructed me to avoid sunlight, use sunscreen and incorporate “fade creams” into my daily skin care. The only other option was to try expensive laser treatments.

Unfortunately, none of those options were fool proof because the discolorations were hormonally triggered. The splotchy spots would only truly stop once my hormones stabilized (after menopause) which might take 10-15 years.

So I dealt with the my “age spots” with concealer and foundation. It was a real drag because I was very self conscious of the splotches on my face and didn’t feel comfortable leaving the house without makeup. The spots would slowly disappear in one area only to emerge in another. I used a prescription fade cream for more than 6 months but noticed no difference. A couple years and several product attempts later, I was seriously considering coughing up some big bucks to try laser treatments.

Fortunately that was about the time that I discovered the Isotonix® nutritional line for my inside and a skin care product called Pentaxyl® for my outside.

A study conducted by the Department of Medicine at the Union Memorial Hospital in Maryland compared photolight therapy to the use of vitamin D on a group of subjects with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder).

The randomized controlled trial found that after one month the subjects who received phototherapy showed no significant improvements in their vitamin D levels or in their depression. However, the group who received vitamin D experienced significant reductions in their depression and showed increased levels of vitamin D in their blood serum.

The study concluded that vitamin D3 may be a valuable treatment for SAD.

Multiple studies on the use of vitamin D for depression, anxiety and cognitive disorders have been listed at the Vitamin D Council site.

Isotonix® Vitamin D with K2 provides 5000 iu’s per dose of highly bioavailable vitamin D3 with the additional benefit of vitamin K2 for increased bone and vascular health. Many people who were disappointed with vitamin D in capsule form have enjoyed the ease of use and up to 95% absorption provided in this delicious drinkable isotonic solution.

Curcumin is the most biologically active ingredient found in the herb, turmeric, which is part of the ginger family. Used for centuries in Indian cooking, this potent phytochemical (plant chemical) has been identified as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-amyloid (inhibits abnormal protein deposits – like brain plaque), anti-tumor (causes apoptosis or cell death in cancerous cells) and enhances immune system function by increasing the production of glutathione.

If that wasn’t enough – there’s more!

A recent study published in Psychopharmacology on curcumin found that it behaves like a natural antidepressant by increasing serotonin as well as dopamine levels.

Unfortunately, most natural forms of curcumin are not very bioavailable. By the time they pass from the stomach into the small intestine for absorption the active ingredient is quite degraded and has lost its potency. However, a naturally-occurring and patented form of curcumin has been developed called BCM-95®, which delivers six times more bioactive curcumin into the blood than typical curcumin.

Curcumin Extreme™ contains this optimal type of pharmacologically bioactive curcumin known as BCM-95® in a unique synergistic formula.

The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease published study results recommending that vitamin D3 be used in conjunction with curcumin to prevent Alzheimer’s and cellular damage/destruction to brain cells caused by free radicals through oxidative stress.

According to Dr. Milan Fiala, study author and a researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, “We hope that vitamin D3 and curcumin, both naturally occurring nutrients, may offer new preventive and treatment possibilities for Alzheimer’s disease.”

Isotonix® Vitamin D with K2 is a drinkable, highly bioavailable and active form of D3. Using Isotonix® Vitamin D with K2 along with Curcumin Extreme™ would be an excellent response to Dr. Fiala’s suggestion.